To be a Hero
by Latent Lullaby
Summary: In the world of Twilight Princess, Link is going through with his quest to save Ilia and the kids, as well as the whole of Hyrule But he finds it hard to be a hero without knowing who he is supposed to be as well as what the mysteries of Hyrule mean.Lz
1. Chapter 1

To be a Hero

Chapter 1 (Questions)

By Zeldagurl

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, but I wish I did.

(Begin)

A young man walked slowly through the decaying place, his sword and his shield at the ready for battle. He was tall, and well built; with a head full of blondish brown hair and hungry blue eyes that seemed to be searching the room for something. He wore a green tunic that covered his chain mail, and along with it, a long green hat that seemed to be more of a hindrance than a help.

"You know..." An impishly childish voice spoke, coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

"We've been in this stuffy cave for the better part of an hour, and we haven't found anything. Wouldn't a normal person give up and go back to town for the night? You haven't even said what it is you're really looking for..." It continued, seemingly cranky.

The young man looked down at his shadow and spoke with a small smile, teasing it with a small tilt of his head.

"You've forgotten that I'm not normal Midna."

With that remark, his shadow seemed to reshape itself into the form of a little female imp with her little hands on her hips.

"You're the most normal person that I know!" She hissed.

"How many normal people would you know, Midna?" He said quizzically, sparing her a small glance.

"Well..." She paused and thought, obviously coming to a halt in her mind as she tried to define those she knew as normal.

"You would be the first by Hylian standards." She admitted lamely.

"By Hylian standards? Is this what you do when you're sitting there in my shadow, watching me flounder in a temple while I'm repeatedly asking you for help?"

"No, I laugh about how big of an idiot you are while I'm sitting there in your shadow, watching you flounder on a puzzle that is so easy I could do it while I'm dead." She said flatly, absently reclining while floating in the air beside him.

"You still haven't explained how I'm even remotely normal." He said, shrugging off her insult.

"You came from a small village where you were loved and adored, and you have no strange personality quirks. You're even good-looking from a hylian standing point; I don't see how you're even a little abnormal... other than your funny face." She snickered as she added her last quip, lifting a small black hand to her mouth to cover her laughter.

He rolled his eyes at her,

"That may be true; but the face remains that I am different from them. I have pointy ears, therefore showing that I'm hylian. I have a strange mark on the back of my left hand that I have no idea what it means and why I have it. I have no true family to speak of..." He stopped suddenly, feeling that he was going into unmapped territory with the little imp; besides the fact that they had never talked about anything that was serious.

He didn't want to break the fragile relationship that he and Midna had built over the last few months; he had accepted her leadership and ruthless nature when it came to what she wanted, while she had gotten used to _his_ leadership and compassion, along with his complicated feelings.

He shook his head and pressed on, coming to an unstudied wooden door that barred his entrance further. He stopped and examined it from all angles, tilting his head and touching it lightly to test its stability. It wobbled as he pushed on it, he smiled lightly and stepped back, preparing to push harder in order to open it.

"I don't even get why you're doing this..." Midna looked cautiously at the dark designs of the cave, the laughing faces that were carved there. The whole place seemed to have a creepy feel to it; almost as though it was man made, yet not.

He pushed with all of his might and eventually the door worked, and was pulled up to open.

"It's a long story..." He said, avoiding her eyes and looking forward to the new hallway that was now earthen, and had the feel of a real cave. The place was obviously in disrepair, most likely owning to the fact that almost no one made their homes in the fields anymore. Everyone lived in villages or cities because of the convenience, though Link couldn't imagine someone living here...

"Since we're more or less stuck here for a while, you should just tell me." Midna followed him closely as he moved into the corridor.

He was silent for a moment as he walked, seemingly thinking.

"Every where we've gone, there's been some sort of comparison between me, and some hero who existed long ago; And although the only people who talk about this hero are either old, or are spirits; I wonder who this guy really was. What really did he do that made him so legendary and remembered?"

Midna looked at him, her bright eyes pondering his words as he spoke them.

"So that's why you're searching through this place; to find out some sort of clue about this ancient hero?" She said incredulously, sighing and closing her eyes.

"In a matter of speaking, yeah." The hallway became darker and darker as they moved forward, even though Link was using his lantern to his best abilities. Despite the troubles with the light though, the hallway ended, coming to a single clearing that had no other path connecting to it. A single ray of light showed through from the ceiling where a small opening sat. The light spilled down into the room, barely illuminating a small chest, and a plaque that sat before it.

"What's this?" Link said more to himself than to Midna; which was well enough because the imp was more interested as he was in the chest and the plaque. He walked forward, coming to the plaque and kneeling down before it, he peered down at it, trying to make it out in the weak light.

"This... This is really old." He said, creasing his brow to study it better.

"Thank you Captain Understatement." Midna snickered.

"Shut up."

Link attempted to ignore the little imp and concentrated on the plaque.

"Hero...Ages...Seasons...time...twig light...winds... fire... until the... cycle ends... These... shall be the... signs." He read aloud and frowned at it, looking at Midna in confusion.

"What's this supposed to mean?"

Midna looked up at him and frowned back at him,

"Well if you want to know, keep reading numbskull." Link rolled his eyes and shook his head, moving back back to the plaque, at the very spot where he left off.

"...Of those... chosen... by Din... Nayru and Farore... Something (I can't read those words) battling against the great swine and those... whom he... may command. These... of valor and courage... shall... bear the triangle... and... Remain in... life's light... and in... Death's darkness" He sat back and rubbed his eyes that ached from concentrating in such poor light.

"That made absolutely no sense." He said, finally getting up off of his knees and moving to the chest, placing his hands on it and using his strength to pull it open. The old object gave easily and opened slowly with his careful touch.

A cloud of dust came from within the chest as the top fell to rest open, Link coughed, closing his eyes and waving his hands in front of him in order to clear the air.

"They usually aren't this dusty, huh?" Midna said sympathetically, although Link had never really heard her be sympathetic and comforting, so he wasn't really sure if that could really be the case. After spending as much time with her as he had, he learned quickly that almost every tone of her voice was a form of sarcasm; rarely did he ever hear something that he could interpret as genuine.

He nodded and grinned at her lightly before leaning forward to see what was in the chest. He reached his hands in and gripped something cold and hard, though not even distinctly heavy. He brought it out of the chest and examined the odd looking object.

It was a lens, not unlike a magnifying lens that all of the Hylian scientists claimed to have in their armory of science instruments, it was a deep purple all around and the lens itself resembled an eye with a single tear falling from it. Link wasn't sure what it was but it seemed familiar, like he had seen it somewhere before but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"What is it?" Midna voiced his thoughts, peering at it over his shoulder with a look of curiosity on her small face.

"I don't know. I guess it's some kind of lens or something." He said, turning it over in his hands, trying to get some idea of it.

"Well, I think that since you've done what you wanted, we should go to some town or camp somewhere to eat and get some sleep."

"Figures, all you care about is food." He said, standing up with the lens and holding it up for Midna to hold onto.

"I also care greatly about my beauty rest and the fused shadow." She said brightly, zapping the tool with twilight and therefore making it disappear. She looked over at the plaque and then looked to Link with her little hand pointed at it.

"Should we take that too? Since I know you'll want to look at it again, and it would be smarter just to take it with us."

He looked down at it and studied it for a moment, furrowing his brow, knowing that the plaque presented questions that he still had yet to find the answers to. He knew that he wouldn't ever be able rest his mind until these insatiable questions were answered.

"Yeah, sure... Maybe I'll take it to a historian or something." He said nonchalantly, shrugging as he turned back towards the direction of the entrance of the dark place. She quickly zapped it and hurried after him, meaning to seriously think about whether she should point out the places littered about Hyrule that contained treasures and unexplored land, if it would only prevent another all-day excursion...

(Switch)

It was barely morning, the sun had just peeked out from behind Death Mountain and was slowly spreading its light across Hyrule; and Link was awake, lying on his bedroll with his arms behind his head, staring up at the light blue sky. Epona lay just a few feet away, her long legs folded beneath her and her head laid on the ground of the field that was just outside of the cave. Midna was asleep in his shadow, though he still wasn't really sure how the dynamics of it worked, but it was safe to say that he wouldn't be bothering her by waking up and moving about.

To tell the truth, Link hadn't been able to sleep the night before, and he was sorry that he wouldn't be very energetic for the day ahead; but he had been pondering things all night. He thought of everything that had happened since Ordon village was raided and he had first met Midna.

He could already tell that he was a different man than when he had first started out to rescue Ilia and Colin, along with Malo and Talo and Beth. There seemed to be a part of him that he knew they would never understand now. The light spirit, Faron, he had called it 'the power of the hero of old' or something like that, but he wasn't sure that being a hero had everything to do with it.

Now that he had been a beast, and had known the carnal desires that animals carried with them everywhere, he couldn't say that he was the same gentle man; Just the though of tearing a throat out with his teeth would have seriously disturbed him before his transformation, but now it was second nature to him. If he was ever found without his sword and his shield, than he knew that he could always go farther in his defense...

He had met so many people in the past few months, it was sometimes hard to keep track of everyone who came and went. Luckily, each of the citizens of Hyrule did their best to be memorable, even in the eyes of a passing stranger.

There was Telma, the flirtatious older barkeep, who never seemed to find anything that remotely ruffled her feathers in any way; and Renado, the mysterious shaman of New Kakariko, who seemed wise beyond belief. There was Barnes, the comedic bomb shop owner, whom Link had found interesting, and a good laugh. He had met the dead Zora queen Rutella, who had promised him some treasure if he would help her only son, which he would have done anyway, even without the promise of a reward. And there was even the princess of Hyrule, Zelda; who was beautiful and fair as he had heard, but had a strange sort of sadness and guilt that permeated the air about her. He remembered most distinctly the back of her cloak, which had some strange designs on it (he had been staring pointedly at it while growling at her.), and her deep blue eyes that seemed filled with something... something strangely akin to himself.

He pictured her in her cloak and remembered the strange designs... There were a bunch of loops, weren't there? And some strange signs and symbols... Now that he thought about it, there was one symbol that distinctly looked like... that lens he had found the day before...

He sat up suddenly (waking up the sleepy horse who was near him, who simply lay her head back down when she realized that he wasn't doing anything pertaining to her), his eyes widening as he compared the two images in his head and found that they were indeed very similar.

Well... there was one answer to a question... Though that answer led to another and another question... His only choice was to seek out what that symbol meant, and why Princess Zelda wore it on her cloak. He sighed and lay back down in his bed roll.

He wanted to know why he was connected to all of this... He really wanted to know why there was a reason that he was connected with the hero that was told about in Legends he had barely paid any attention to before all of this had happened to him. He wanted so desperately to know this hero, to know how he was supposed to measure up to a hundred years worth of story-telling and glorification. The people needed a hero like the one that lived long ago, and he didn't know if he was quite good enough...

How do you cure a country of civil unrest? Of strange droughts and evil beings plundering and attacking the people who had forgotten how to fight? How do you fight an evil you don't even know?

How do you cross the line between reality and Legend...?

All these things he wanted to know and more... He didn't even know how to start answering them.

Link sighed and looked back up at the sky that was now brightening with the sun as every moment passed. He didn't know when he would understand what was going on, but he hoped in earnest that he would find out...

He shook his head, rolling over and closing his eyes, trying in vain to sleep a little bit before the world woke up and demanded his attentions for another day...

Authors note: Ah, here I am listening to the Majora's Mask soundtrack, writing a Twilight princess fanfic. Hmmm, strange where I get my inspiration from...

Anyway, this is an idea I had while finishing the game. I didn't like how the game left things with the story (The graphics rocked though!), so I've decided to compose this story for the hopes of writing a good story, and also to get my creative juices going for my two Inuyasha stories.

If you've played Ocarina of Time, you will understand a lot of the stuff in this story. Oot is personally my favorite game, and I didn't like the lack of reference to it, even though it's only been 100 years; not that much should have been changed... Although, I do still love Tp, I think that it would have been better with a few more references to Oot and Mm.

I really hope you like where I'm going with this story, and I hope you will continue reading (those of you who are). Like any authoress who lives in a closet with her computer, I hope that you will all review and tell me how I'm doing. Good, bad, okay? Please let me know so that I can better my writing for the future!

Thank you!

Read and Review!

-


	2. Chapter 2

To be a Hero

Chapter 2

By Zeldagurl

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda, and you'd better thank your lucky stars that I don't, or else Ganondorf might internally combust at the end of every game, leaving Link and Zelda plenty of time to make out and get married and all that goes with it. (sigh) damn.

(Begin)

It was the same dream, over and over again.

Screaming and the terrible sound of death.

The smell, the stench of it all drove him mad, sent him over the edge over and over again as he smelled fresh blood.

He was enticed by it; drawn by it's heavy, distinct smell. And yet this smell sent him into the very bowels of his nightmares, showing him that he had become everything that he was never supposed to be. The inate torture of his soul, twisting it and turning it until it no longer resembled a boy, but a beast out for flesh.

He ceased to be, and became just an animal; a beast without thought or soul. It's mind howled at it, constantly screaming for flesh, for blood, for food. It lost all of it's humanity the moment that it's teeth tore into the skin of a human being; ironic, or at least a very terrible coincidence.

It marveled for just a second at the fact that it was eating it's own true kind...

The being ran on, sniffing out new prey that it could kill. It ran through a forest, jumping over rocks and gripping the ground with it's claws to give it a small burst of speed, even though those who were it's victims hadn't even seen it coming, it was going so fast.

There was a horse, running away from it and screaming at it to return to it's true self, and to remember that it was hylian. It screamed and screamed, as was possible for a horse, until it finally caught up with it and brought silence to its consciousness once more.

There were little children, along with an young woman and a host of adults, all running, but all of them not fact enough. It bore down upon them and tore them apart, despite the heavy tugging at his heart while it did it.

There were so many people, some that it could put a name to, and some that it still could not. It didn't matter to the beast; meat was meat, and it didn't differentiate between aquaintences and friends when there was a deep hunger in it's belly; Hunger came before humanity in all cases.

Everything was red and blindingly fuzzy to the beast's sight, the strongest sense it had was the smells of things; which even still proved to be primarily concerned with blood.

All of the sudden, the creature was consumed by a sort of shaking, almost like an earthquake. It dug it's claws into the ground and tried to hold on, hearing an increasingly loud voice, calling the beast, louder than even all of it's victims. It was jarring, it was so loud, it was affecting him much more than those it had just killed.

Why?

"Link! Wake up!"

He opened his eyes, finding himself staring into the concerned eyes of the shadow imp who had so far guided him to where he was.

"Midna." He said breathlessly, looking beyond her and finding with relief that the sky was not red, but a deep blue, dotted with small dots of white twinkling in the distance along with the huge half moon.

He sat up, holding his head and wiping the slick sheen of sweat from his brow. He tried as hard as he could to wipe the images from his mind; the dancing images of his friends dying in front of him. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw them, trading the navy blue sky for the red haze each time that he even dared to blink.

"I-I'm sorry that you had to wake me up like that." He stuttered for a second, regaining his balance within himself before continuing.

"What happened?" She asked, sitting back and staring at him with an almost wide-eyed expression on her normally guarded face. He looked at her and relaxed slightly, running his hands through his hair and trying to relieve himself of the tension that he suddenly realized he had been carrying.

"I had a bad dream." He said simply, not wishing to admit to having such a terrible dream, even to a creature that had admitted to be used to the darker side of life.

"What was it about?"

"It wasn't anything to be worried about, I've got it taken care of." He said, brushing it off, trying almost to make light of the situation. He was still breathing hard, and he was still covered in perspiration and showed varied signs of fatigue. He smiled and lay back down, concentrating on the stars above and ignoring the fact that Midna was still waiting for him to elaborate.

"Go back to sleep, I'm okay on my own." He said, leaning over and giving her an almost gentle smile, trying and hoping to coax her into leaving him alone for the night. The said imp frowned at him and shook her head, deciding that she wasn't going to get any info out of him for this night; she turned and leapt back into his shadow.

Link sighed in relief, closing his eyes and rolling back to lay with his eyes facing the blue sky above him.

Despite the small amount of time that had passed since he had woken up, his heart still beat with great tension and fear. He shook from his toes to the top of his head, and he didn't know how to stop it. He was so greatly disturbed at the fact that he could dream of something like that. He had seen a violence that he had never even known existed, especially within himself.

He looked at Epona, her long brown legs folded beneathe her and her head resting on a soft-looking patch of grass. He could never...

He swallowed hard and looked away. He had never imagined even raising a hand to her in malcontent. How could he have found it within himself to hurt her, and... and kill her?

He didn't even want to think about the others, he didn't want to relive the dream at all...

He sat up once again, knowing that his mind would not get off the subject anytime soon. He looked around him, looking for something constructive to do with himself in order to avoid himself. He spied the river that flowed from Zora's Domain, and remembered that they were in the upper Lanaryu province. He looked at the castle and thought about Illia and Telma, about the princess and about everyone he had already met in the town.

"Some hero I am..." He muttered, laughing dejectedly at himself.

He shook his head and looked away, throwing his blanket away from his legs and getting to his feet. He stood and walked to the river, taking off his shirt as he went and shedding it on the ground. Midna had repeatedly lectured him on being ready at anytime for an attack, but he ignored the nagging voice that he remembered in the back of his mind (which he was already trying to avoid).

He wouldn't be ready for an attack now anyway, even if he was fully dressed and packed with a weapon in hand...

(Switch)

The boy was pretty new to this sort of thing, he had decided that quickly enough.

It was enough that the boy and the imp had been sleeping without any guard in the middle of the field. They clearly didn't comprehend how easily an enemy could overtake them and kill Hyrule along with the boy who carried the kingdom on his shoulders.

It was a foolhardy mistake, and though it was stupid, he was a little more lenient only because he could remember once doing so himself. Unfortunately though, he was forced to learn that evil does not sleep; luckily, he had escaped the encounter with his life.

But that wasn't his only reason for thinking poorly of the boy on first impressions.

The boy was clumsy, and had no grace with the sword at all. The first time that he had shown himself to the young one, he had easily beaten the boy, and had an extremely hard time teaching him something new. The boy wasn't careful, and got attached to things too easily.

Emotion was rarely useful in a real fight, you had to prepare, and you had to know what you were doing if you wanted to escape with your life and your dignity intact. He had once thought that emotion was everything, but through the years of fighting and watching people fall, he had learned to avoid those things as well.

And now... the boy had freshly found the darkness within himself, obviously revealed in a terrible dream. He was reacting normally to something so vile and disgusting that was within every mortal heart, but... The boy was afraid of it, he could tell that the boy was ignoring it and hoping that it would just go away.

He watched as the young one dove into the river, staying under for a spare few seconds before coming back up with a quiet splash that barely effected the dark surface of the water (Not any more than the boy's diving had anyway).

'He needs to learn... more than I can teach him.' He thought to himself.

He could not reveal himself to the boy, and he could not get too close. How could he prove to be any type of a guiding creature when he could not even correct the boy when he was doing things wrong? Especially at a time like this, when Hyrule needed it's hero to be doing everything right...

He blinked once and sighed, he was just a bitter thing. How the goddesses planned to have him teach the boy was a mystery to him. Ever since all of this had begun, he had grown farther and farther away from his original good intentions.

He didn't want to admit it now, but he was once much like this boy who was now the guardian of Hyrule. And he was probably being a bit too hard on the young one.

He shook his head, laying it back down and keeping his eye on the boy. His golden palor dimmed and he sighed quietly.

'This is going to be harder than I thought.'

(switch)

The sun was high upon the land of Hyrule, gazing on all of the people of the land going this way or that, living out their lives, despite the darkness that threatened to pervade their very existence.

Link urged Epona on, riding at a steady gallup towards the ending road that would usually bring one to the castle.

"I'm going to find a scholar first to decipher this prophecy, then I'll get Illia and bring her back to the kids in Kakariko." He said, lifting a hand to shield his face from the strong light abounding in the field approaching the castle.

"I thought you said we were going to get back to questly things and all. I don't remember this prophecy thing being related to the quest." He felt a familiar weight on his shoulder and looked over at Midna, who was hanging on quite well despite the high speed at which they were going. (he would never understand the dynamics of how she worked...)

"You may be right, but what if this prophecy thing turns out to be one of those loose ends that trip us up and cause us to have to go on a whole new sidequest that annoys you to no end?" He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes in answer.

"Oh golly gee, there you go being considerate again." She said sarcastically.

"I knew you'd see thing my way."

" just consider yourself lucky that you actually find a way to be right once in a while, otherwise I'd have you whooped in the brain department.." She grumbled, shaking her head and sighing audibly.

"What's that Midna? Once in a while? I'd say this is twice I've been right in the last two days, counting the cave, and this." He teased.

"Don't get too excited." She said flatly.

Link just rolled his eyes and brought his attention back to the road.

"But, I mean, really. We have to get a move on soon. You have no idea what Zant could be doing while we're just running around doing pleasure trips, beside the fact that Zelda is still trapped in the castle, having who-knows-what done to her." Link swallowed and set his mouth into a grimace, Midna did have a good point.

For all that they knew, they might even be losing the ground that they had fought tooth and nail to gain back. Not to mention the fact that the Princess was still in captivity and was still unable to assume ruling position. Zant might even be torturing her to give into his whims and his ways, maybe wanting her to become Hyrule's newest figure-head.

Even link, knowing as little Hylian history as the nest average-joe from Ordon, knew that Hyrule had a history of being overtaken by plots behind the throne. In fact, almost every magician or ne'er-do-well aimed for the throne intently. The government had grown stronger over the years and usually was able to repel the smaller nuisances, but there was one sorcerer who always got through. Link had never even heard his name; people in the village still feared to talk about him for fear that he might come back.

It was in those cases, when that magician got through the safeguards of the government, that a hero stepped up to battle the magician and send him back into the void; a place he had been sent to long ago.

"Well, as soon as we've got this prophecy and lens thing analyzed, then I'll get right back to Illia and that Zora prince." He said, trying to sound sure of his actions, more than he felt sure of himself.

They were both silent for a few moments as the castle's spectacular view came into better sight, both seemingly thinking of the difficult road ahead. Midna looked up at Link with a questioning look and leaned forward to look him in the eye, trying to find out something for herself.

He noticed her looking and raised an eyebrow at her,

"What?" He shrugged at her and turned his attention back to steering Epona in the right direction, not really understanding why Midna was suddenly so fascinated with his face.

"Is there something on my chin or something?"

"With the way you eat? I wouldn't be surprised; but no, that's not why I'm staring at you." She said mockingly, giggling at the Hylian darkly.

"Well, what then?"

She was silent for a moment, pinching her face into a lovely scrunched up position that Link lovingly (if only in his mind) called 'Midna's-thinking-face'. Her expression cleared and she leaned her head on her hands, looking up at him with a barely inquisitive expression.

"Why aren't you running back to Illia right away? I mean, I thought she was one of the main reasons you're on this quest, and here you are putting her after a moldy old piece a paper that some old guy wrote, probably when he was drunk or considering screwing up some poor sap in the future."

"...you're wierd Midna."

"Answer the question." She pursed her lips placatingly.

He sat back in the saddle, letting Epona slow down to a moderate trot while he thought. The castle bridge was only about two hundred feet or less ahead of them all the while.

"... I don't know Midna. I figure that she's safe, so I can have a breather from all of this running around like crazy and stuff." He let out a breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding in.

"What about that Zora kid? Didn't you promise to help that Zora queen, Ruta or Ruto wasn't it?"

"Her name is Rutella," He said, glaring at her, and looked away, pausing for a moment before continuing to speak.

"...and, it's true, I did agree to help her. But I'm not a doctor, I can't help that boy. I can only hope that a doctor will come along that CAN help him." He said, sighing as he pulled on Epona's reins, jumping out of the saddle and giving her a pat on the neck before he began climbing the steps to the bridge.

He looked down at himself and checked to make sure he had everything before walking into castle town, where he could neither ask Midna to take something out, nor get anything from his saddle bag. He patted one of the bags at his waist and then looked up at Midna, who floated alongside him,

"Could you get out the mirror lens thing?" She rolled her eyes and flicked her arm at the ground, where the newly discovered tool appeared, along with a paper version of the plaque that Link had written down one night for his own benefit (This was also after he had woken Midna up to get a look at it, resulting in a very cranky female, which furthermore resulted in a very pummeled Link).

"Oh, how I long for the day that you know how to call things by their proper names." She said mockingly as he picked up the lens and grabbed a thin cloth from one of his saddle bags to cover the artifact up.

Once it was safely covered up, he tucked it under his arm and strode forward towards the large doors that led into Castle-town. Midna hid in his shadow and waited, in order to be able to hear everything that Link was about to say and do..

. She was quite happy that he was finally getting his butt in gear and continuing at least a small aspect of the quest, and she was hoping that he wasn't going to get distracted for a good long time (although, knowing Link, that meant 10 minutes, tops). Even so, it was clear to Midna that she didn't need to bring her expectations so high, it would mean less stress for everybody... She sighed and deflated slightly;

As long as something got done that day, she wouldn't harp on him too badly... Unless she felt so inclined.

The day was young...

Authors note: ARGG! I can't write an ending to a chapter to save my life! It's always wishy-washy and blegh! (sigh).


	3. Chapter 3

To be a hero

Chapter 3

By Zeldagurl

Authors note:

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, although I do own a Link Plushie; does the plushie count?

(Begin)

Link stepped lightly in the streets of Castle-town, clinging to the walls and the small sidewalks, trying desperately not to get in anyone's way, or to bump into anyone. Everyone was always so busy here, and they didn't seem to really give a hoot about anyone but themselves. Link found that the Castle-town folk generally left him alone as long as he wasn't obstructing traffic, although he did get quite a few queer looks as he would pass by.

It was enough that his weapons clinked as they bounced with his quick steps, but his sword intimidated most who passed him by, causing the general crowd to speed up in their pace of walking, which was not a good thing for Link.

Link sighed as a woman looked at him pointedly, her mouth slightly ajar. If people ever got around to treating him normally, it would be a miracle to behold. As it was, he couldn't find any scholars who were willing to take a young swordsman into their expensive and no-doubt well furnished houses. It wasn't like they outright refused him, they just told him to come back at another time. And Link, feeling reasonable the first two times, didn't see any problem with their reluctance to see him; but it kept happening, and he searched the city for anyone who would see him.

He didn't know why these rich and mighty men refused to see him, he had a small inkling that they were thinking of their status and valuables. They might've been either afraid that he would break or steal their things, or be seen walking into their houses, which probably wouldn't bode well for their social standings...

But these things that Link had known nothing about before he had left Ordon didn't seem to matter, they weren't real reasons, and they were unfair.

He finally ended up in the alley that contained a small family of cats in one abandoned lot.

"It's not like it was that important anyway." He said dejectedly. He had only wanted to know what it was, and maybe... He had kind of hoped that he might be able to understand just _what _he was

Link walked to the lot wearily and knelt down, giving his attention to the friendly group of cats, he smiled at their enthusiasm.

"Every time I come by here, you guys are always hanging around. Do you belong to anyone?" He asked, though not really expecting more than a meow in reply.

The cats mewled and rubbed against his legs, looking up at the boy adoringly

"You're all very friendly, but you're a little skinny too." Link thought for a few seconds, a frown creasing his face. He dug into the foremost bag on his belt and pulled out a little bit of goat meat, putting it down for the cats who immediately leapt on it and fought for it amongst themselves for a few minutes or more.

"That was kind..." Link turned to see an old man stooping along with him, watching the cats closely.

"No one ever stops here, the city folk are too busy living their lives and the travelers here are too confused and lost to care.

Link drew back apologetically and bowed his head slightly. To tell the truth, Link hadn't even heard the old man come up beside him. Link followed the old mans line of sight and saw that he was very intent upon the cats.

"I'm sorry, are these cats yours?"

The old man looked at him for a moment and than turned away, shaking his head and chuckling to himself,

"You Ordonians are very polite, no matter how or where I tend to meet all of you." He gave Link a sly look, apparently finding amusement in Link's confused face. He calmed himself again and smiled at the young man who was patiently waiting for an answer.

"If they belong to anyone, they belong to Jovani, who used to live here..."

He looked at the door within the small lot that was ramshackle and brawny frayed.

"...But he hasn't been heard from in quite some time... so they don't seem to belong to anyone at the moment." The old man continued to chuckle softly.

He took a breath after his explanation, though he seemed to think it perfectly normal to talk for so long and so inquiringly. Link decided to shrug it off as a strange quirk that old men seemed to have, and studied the man while he was looking back at the cats.

He was old, though not fragile enough to stay inside all day. This man was tanned brown, with a great beard and twinkling eyes that spoke volumes of his wisdom and good sense. He had many laugh lines, and seemed jolly with great love for people in general. Link found himself slightly comfortable with the man, already feeling the friendliness that the old man had in his heart.

"How do you know I'm from Ordon?" Link asked belatedly, looking down at his clothes and hands to determine what had clued the old man in.

His clothes were certainly not Ordonian, and they were in such an old style that he was sure that no one even recognized where these clothes were from. Even though Link was sorely disappointed that more people didn't recognize the clothes of the ancient Hero, he had been slightly looking forward to the attention.

"Well, your sword is a dead give away to those who know what to look for; I know that style of sword, it could only be crafted by Rusl from Ordon. He's a good man, a distant acquaintance of mine, makes swords with the finest craftsmanship I've ever seen, save for the Master Sword itself." He finished reverently.

Link looked up at the mention of the Master Sword, peering at the old man who then stood up and leaned against the stony wall for support.

"You seem to know a lot, sir." He added the respectful surname for good measure.

"I've studied many things, young man." The old man smiled.

Both of them were silent for a moment, watching the cats fight over yet another piece of jerky from Link's pouch. The old man was the first to speak, straightening as best he could and directing a kindly towards the young man.

"Well, if you've nowhere to be, and if you're feeling hungry, I'd be pleased to offer you some food for the mid-day meal." He turned and took a step towards the other side of the alley, where a door was swung open in the corner.

"It's nothing fit for royalty, but it suits most people just fine." He chuckled and continued on his way, leaving it to Link whether to follow or not. The said man was feeling a little confused, sitting there watching the old man walk back to the open door that was most likely his house.

The young Hero shrugged his shoulders and stood up, making sure that his pack was secure and that he was all set to go. He was sure that Midna was supremely miffed at the fact that they were being side-tracked from their objective AGAIN; but along with his confusion, Link felt sure that the old man was going to be able to answer a lot of his questions.

(Switch)

The house was small and well-worn, much like the old man who lived in it. It was cozy, although not as comfortable as Link would have liked it to have been. It was good enough for then, and it wasn't as though it was dirty or had an ill smell to it or anything. It was smoky and dark, but had good wooden furniture in it, that helped give it a charm of its own.

The old man had introduced himself to Link as Sahasralah, named for an old sage who had once helped a hero in a previous age. Link couldn't remember anything about it except for some sort of moon pearl and mirror, involving some sort of dark world of sorts. But the old man seemed to know a lot about his namesake, and the quest that he helped with, although he was unwilling to share more than a few sparse details of the evidently long quest. Or at least until they were done eating...

"Yes m'boy, I've studied much indeed." Sahasralah sat back and sucked on a pipe as they both digested a good and hearty meal. Link hadn't eaten quite as much as he would have liked to, simply because he had been taught to eat lightly at a stranger's house, but he felt satisfied all the same.

He took a sip of his drink and set the wooden goblet back down, sitting forward in his seat with close attention to the elder man who smoked his pipe peaceably.

"Do you know a lot of history?"

"History is _all _I know." The old man chuckled simply.

Excited by the prospects of this man's knowledge, Link searched his mind for the searing questions that he had been asking himself all along.

"In fact, I'm expertly knowledgeable where your garb and your looks are concerned. I've made it a personal mission of mine to study the Heroes of Hyrule." The old man said cleverly, nodding his head at the hat that sat on the table next to the two of them.

"You know who I am?" Came the doubtful reply.

"Only because I know what to look for." Sarahasla repeated.

The old man sat forward and closed his eyes to think, his bushy eyebrows drooping along with all of his other wrinkled features.

"The Heroes of legend," He began slowly, "A noble breed of Hylian, different from all of those around them. So far as history knows, there have been four heroes, you being the fifth." He paused for a breath.

"The Hero of Heroes, the Hero of Ages, the Hero of Seasons, and the Hero of Time. These are the Heroes known to us. All of them are different by the elements that uphold, but each are yet the same. Each Hero battles the great evil, Ganon, and each Hero unites with their courage with a princess' wisdom in order to gain victory over Ganon's power. It is a grand cycle, you see... Every time that Ganon rises, there is hero -or one who can be called to duty- to defend Hyrule." He looked up at Link and saw the sparkle of interest in his eyes. He smiled kindly and nodded his head to the young man.

"Did you want to know about a specific Hero, or shall I go on?"

Link thought for a moment,

"I want to know... about the Hero of Time. I want to know who he was, and what he did..." Link trailed off, looking down at the goblet in his large hands. Sahasralah nodded understandingly,

He took a deep breath and held his pipe in his gnarled old hands for a moment before speaking.

"The Hero of Time came from the forest, a place called Kokiri Village. It is a place that is now lost to our modern world, but it is believed that it is located somewhere near Ordon, although the old Temple of Time is located there as well..." The old man frowned,

"Anyway, regardless of false locations, he came from there. It is said that he first entered Hyrule at the age of ten by the suggestion of the Guardian of the Kokiri forest, The Great Deku Tree. He left after the guardian died from a curse, bringing with him a fairy and a spiritual stone of the forest. He went to the Princess Zelda Harkinian, a princess of the Hyrule family. The princess was the same age as he, and together they devised a plan that involved finding the two remaining spiritual stones and entering the sacred realm before their enemy Ganondorf could."

"The Hero of Time, then named Link went through with this, making friends with Dariunia, the great Goron leader, and Queen Ruto, mother of the current Queen on the Zoran throne. He found the stones after solving great problems originally caused by Ganondorf, already becoming a knight in two cultures other than our own."

"Link finally brought the stones back to the Princess, only to be caught in a battle that ultimately overthrew the royal family, killing the King and displacing the Princess with her Sheikan Nursemaid, Impa. Zelda escaped, but only because Link stalled Ganondorf for a few moments by challenging him with the power of the sword. Link was almost killed by the evil tyrant, and as Ganondorf rode off to chase Zelda, Link dove into the river to retrieve an object thrown by Zelda in the heat of the escape. The object was the Ocarina of Time, a powerful artifact that obviously has the power to control time."

"Link received a vision from Zelda, teaching him the song of time that could open the doors to the sacred realm. Link went to the Temple of Time, now located near Ordon, and played the song, opening the door of time and entering the chamber that held the legendary Master Sword."

Sahasralah stopped for a moment and took a sip from his goblet, looking up at Link and seeing a fascinated look of amazement gracing the young man's face. Sahasralah was pleased to have such an interested listener.

"Link pulled the sword from the pedestal, and in that moment, truly became the Hero of Time; but instead of entering the sacred realm to claim the triforce, as He and Zelda had originally intended, the sacred realm claimed him for seven years. Just before he was put to sleep, he saw Ganondorf's gleeful face; Link had accidentally let Ganondorf into the sacred realm."

"Unknowing of the hell that he had helped create, Link slept for seven years, safe in the sacred realm, despite the chaos happening in the world outside. As soon as the seven years had passed, Link was awoken by the Sage of Light, Rauru, and told about the evil world that he had to save. Link did not complain. He went forth, helped by a survivor or the Sheikah who guided him to each temple that he had to free of monsters. Link awakened each Sage, each according to their temple. Saria, a childhood friend of his was the Sage of the Forest. Dariunia, the sworn brother that Link had helped as a child turned out to be the Sage of Fire. Ruto, the princess of the zoras was the Sage of Water (She apparently had earlier insisted that they marry because of the spiritual stone of water being an engagement stone. Link was not pleased.) Impa, Zelda's nursemaid of old was the Sage of Shadow, and Nabooru, the leader of the Gerudo who hailed from the west was the sage of spirit."

Link found himself thrown into a world that he could imagine well according to Sarahasla's words. An old world of people and places that he had never known, but somehow had been to and seen. He imagined the people, the sages, and the people of Hyrule, suffering under the boot of Ganondorf. His soul cried out for more, more of the answers and the information about someone who was in everything that Link touched. Sahahsrala shook his head as he watched Link think in wonder about the things he never knew.

"There is more yet... For you see, The Hero was not just a hero, but... also a man in love... "He paused.

"...like all mortal men." Sahasralah shook his head fondly, lost in some thought of his own for a moment.

Link's eyes widened and he brought his attention back to the old man's story.

"He was in love with the Princess Zelda from childhood. And throughout his journey, he was always seeking her. She was gone from the time before his seven years of sleep, but as he searched, she always seemed to be gone before he could get to her. He followed rumors and hearsay, but nothing seemed to bring him any closer to her."

"He didn't know that she was always close to him, in the form of the sheikan survivor that guided him. As soon as he had awakened all of the sages, he was called to the Temple of Time, where she revealed herself as Zelda, the seventh Sage. They had almost no time to talk before Ganondorf took her and challenged the Hero to a final showdown at his castle."

The old man paused and looked at Link from beneath his bushy brows with an inquiring look.

"As you can guess, Link was outraged, and afraid for her safety. There is an account from the old Gerudo records that that an old leader, Nabooru wrote of the time between their encounter and Zelda's rescue. He was especially upset about the fact that he hadn't even touched her, registered that she was there before she was taken from him. Because of that, he charged the castle and broke through Ganondorf's barriers in record time."

Sahasralah sat back in his chair and placed his pipe back into his mouth for a few thoughtful seconds.

"Have you ever been in love Link?" He asked quietly.

Link thought for a moment, seeing faint faces of Illia, and a few other people who he couldn't name or place, people he didn't really know. He shook his head silently, wondering if Illia and the kids fit that inquiry.

"Imagine a special fondness for someone, if you can, that you've felt since you saw them for barely an hour as a young boy. A fondness that came from the first time that someone actually needed you; the first time that someone actually wanted you to be around. Imagine going on a quest for this person, going through hell, growing up ahead of time, and going through even more of the best that hells got to offer." The silence and intensity was tangible in the small hut as the old man took a breath.

"If you can imagine all of that, then maybe you can understand what every Hero in the History of Hyrule has felt for the Princess Zelda, especially the Hero of Time."

"And that love, is what has carried us through the ages."

Link was entranced, sitting in the flickering light of the small home. He saw it in his mind, and he felt it in his heart, seeing the Hero as a real hylian person for the first time. All of his life, he had known legends of these people that Hylians worshipped and loved. And now he could see the person behind the Legend, a person not so different from himself...

"Naturally, Link saved Zelda from Ganon, battling him twice in order to seal him away with Zelda's power into the dark void, which could also be called the Sacred Realm. The battle was won, but Zelda didn't feel as though she should be celebrating just yet. She sent Link back to his original time, feeling as though she had robbed him of his childhood. Link didn't want to go back, but he submitted to her request, finding himself once again in the throes of childhood, as though nothing had ever happened."

"Did it end just like that?" Link asked, almost confused at the turn of events that ended the great journey.

"Well, Link eventually went on a quest to a different land, and he never came back. Or at least he was never heard from again. Zelda was devastated, her hero gone with the Ocarina of Time, she went on to marry and have a son to succeed the throne, who was the father of the Young Princess Zelda we have ruling us now."

Link sat back and thought about all that he knew now.

He couldn't believe how everything had ended.

He had never been a romantic, or an enthusiast for love conquering all or anything, but he had hoped that the hero had found some sort of happy ending...

Was that his fate too?

Was he chained to love someone, and to lose them? Was he chained to the Princess because of how things worked? He didn't know what to think...

All of his life, he had thought that he would end up happy; Marrying a good woman and having kids, succeeding at whatever he decided to try his hands at. He hadn't had a reason to doubt that happy fate until now...

"And so it all comes back to me." He said, almost bitterly.

"His fate is like yours, yet unlike it. No fate or existence is the same; you are still your own man." Sahasralah encouraged, seeing the dismal look in the young man's eyes.

"I know... I'm just..." He sighed, trying to find the words to express his black feelings. He was too confused and disturbed on the subject to pursue it any further. With a weak will, he pushed his feelings aside for a while in order to gain the answers to another query.

"I've another question Sahasralah, about an object that I've come across on my travels." Link pulled out the cloth covered lens and set it on the table, unveiling it before the old mans eyes. Sahasralah gasped the second that he saw the purple handle and the intricate design of the lens itself, his hands tentatively moved forward to feel the red spikes on the top.

"Surely this can't be... It isn't," Link waited with baited breath, his eyes riveted on the old man.

"It is the famed Lens of Truth. Passed down by the Sheikah as their weapon of truth, deemed lost until the Hero of Time retrieved it from a dungeon of death." Link resisted the urge to gasp,

"This was used by the Hero?!"

"Indeed!" Sahasralah nodded excitedly, "It can reveal what cannot be seen by normal Hylian eyes. A place not seen, a form hidden, anything. It can see only the truth." The old mans hands trembled as he set his pipe down.

Both men stared in awe at the old lens, their minds running along the same legendary lines.

"The only weapons of the Hero of Time are the Hero's bow, held by the Gorons on Death Mountain, and... just this, the Eye of Truth." The old man blabbered on, amazed.

Link stared at the ancient tool, imagining it in the hands of the hero that he had been thinking of, especially for the last few months. He was just a little closer to him... Just a little closer to finding out what he had to do, for all of Hyrule and for himself. He was exhilarated.

With one final glance at the lens, he stood up, throwing the cloth back over the tool and gathering his things (including a green hat that was suddenly growing on him). He took a last gulp of his drink and faced Sahasrala,

"Well, thank you for telling me what I wanted to know. I hope I'll be able to come back to you for more history lessons in the future." He smiled.

"As do I." The old man grinned back, turning longing eyes away from the lens clutched in Link's hands.

"Wish me luck." He chuckled as he turned to leave.

There was a pause,

"You have more than luck, hero... you have legend." He said quietly. Link let the statement settle into his heart for a moment before striding towards the door, opening it with one last silent glance of thanks to the old man. Sahasrala just smiled...

"Use that tool well, Link of Ordon. It was destined to come to you, just as it came to your ancestor before you. It is no mistake." He called after Link as he stepped out of the threshold of the hut.

"Thank you!" Link called with a wave of his hand

As soon as he was back out in the street, he immediately centered his mind on the next task at hand. His questions answered, he felt a little more up to seeing Illia, and knowing that he was going to have to find a way to save the Zoran prince in a short span of time, he was sure now that he could do it.

He crossed town quickly, dodging the many traveling people with a bit more ease as his goals came clear in his mind.

He jogged down the stairs that led to the bar that he had seen the shadows of Illia and that Zoran boy, jumping down the last two steps in boyish anticipation. He was excited to see her; after all of this time searching for her and the kids, he was finally going to be able to bring them all back to Ordon Village to their families. Link couldn't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they saw their loved one back for the first time in a long time.

Maybe it was hokey, but Link got a certain kind of joy from seeing things restored back to people, and he liked bringing about happy endings, especially to those he loved.

He reached the door and opened it, fully expecting a dramatic hello from Illia. Maybe a grateful smile and a cry of relief, or... No, maybe she would run to him, hugging him, telling him how scared she had been.

Although he hoped that she hadn't been too scared, or too badly hurt. If the monsters had even dared to touch her, he would exterminate all of them, one at a time.

Link acknowledged in his mind, that he was already doing this, without the need for revenge or angry dealings...

Ah, well, he didn't have to think about it now.

He opened the door, expecting Illia to turn and give a dramatic cry, dropping her rag that she was wiping a counter with (because Illia was just that way) and running to him, thanking the goddesses above that he had come to save her.

Yeah...

That would have been nice.

Authors note: Okay, so it's a shorter chapter this time, simply because this is all I've been able to crank out in the last month or two. I've been busy rehearsing for a play and keeping up with school, along with the usual excuses for not updating sooner.

So, I hope you like this chapter!

All of the theories in this story and the plot are completely of my imagination. In the world of Zelda, I guess that anything could be true, including my expansive theories (I need to get a life.)

Well, you know what to do!

Read and Review!


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